Building On The Past - Lessons That Can Be Learned And Applied To Modern Construction
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Niall Crosson, Group Technical Director at Ecological Building Systems, draws on 25 years’ industry experience to make the case for ‘Building Better’, learning from vernacular building traditions and applying those principles to contemporary design and specification.
“Long before UK Building Regulations, performance targets or embodied carbon metrics were introduced, buildings were designed around a simpler logic: work with the climate, use what's available locally and build to last.
Traditional construction using materials like stone, brick, timber and lime was not accidental. It represented generations of understanding of how materials behave, how moisture moves and how a building interacts with its environment. That knowledge did not become obsolete, it became overlooked.
The performance case for traditional fabric
Traditional buildings manage heat and moisture in fundamentally different ways to modern construction. Solid masonry walls with lime mortars and renders are inherently breathable - they absorb and release moisture as conditions change, buffering against condensation and damp rather than trapping it. This hygrothermal behaviour is increasingly recognised in standards and guidance, yet it remains poorly understood on site.
Where traditional fabric fails today, the cause is rarely the building itself. More often, it is the result of inappropriate refurbishments: cement renders applied over breathable masonry, impermeable coatings or insulation boards that interrupt moisture movement, or airtightness upgrades carried out without adequate ventilation. These are fundamental errors and their consequences - mould, timber decay and accelerated deterioration of historic fabric can lead to the need for ongoing maintenance and repair.
Conservation architect Fergal McGirl, RIAI Grade 1, puts it plainly: "The area of retrofit of historic buildings is a challenging one that requires careful technical and heritage assessment of the structure's characteristics to ensure appropriate approaches are followed. Getting comprehensive advice and risk assessment at specification stage, along with on-site support during construction stage, is key in maintaining quality control."
The embodied carbon argument
As Carl Elefante, former president of the American Institute of Architects, observed: "The greenest building is the one that already exists." This is not simply a philosophical position, but is increasingly a commercial and regulatory one. Traditional buildings already carry significant embodied carbon from extraction, manufacturing and original construction. Retention preserves that carbon. molition and new build releases it and replaces it with the embodied carbon of an entirely new structure. Refurbishment, by contrast, can reduce embodied carbon by 50–75% compared to a demolition-and-rebuild approach - a metric that should be front of mind for any architect working to net zero briefs or whole-life carbon assessments.
Specification: where good intentions go wrong
The thermal refurbishment of traditional buildings is achievable, but it demands a systems-based approach. No single product or measure operates in isolation. Insulation choice, ventilation strategy, detailing at junctions and the breathability of finishes must be considered together.
Traditional lime plasterer Graham Mills, who has over two decades of experience on historic fabric, identifies a fundamental issue at specification stage: "Industry advisors and suppliers should not be afraid to say no where a building is not ready or suitable. This is where integrity speaks volumes." This is a challenge for specifiers as much as contractors. The pressure to hit energy performance targets can push projects towards solutions designed for modern, airtight construction that are simply incompatible with traditional fabric. Specifying breathable insulation systems, vapour-open boards and lime-based finishes requires confidence in the face of pressure to reduce cost.
On-site competence and mindset
UK contractor David Benn of DMB Building Ltd describes how his approach changed through direct experience of working with traditional buildings: "Like most builders, I started out using the usual fixes. Damp? Inject it. Cold wall? Board it. I didn't really understand how traditional buildings behave or how easy it is to make things worse with the wrong materials. The real shift for me has been the mindset. Building Better isn't about throwing products at a problem - it's about understanding the building first and choosing materials that respect it."
For architects and project managers, this points to the value of contractor selection and pre-construction engagement. Competence in traditional building techniques is a specialist skill and it should be treated as a procurement criterion, not an assumption.
A wider responsibility
Across the UK and Ireland, millions of traditional buildings remain in use - housing stock, commercial premises and community assets. Their continued viability depends on the decisions made now at design, specification and construction stage.
At its core, Building Better is deeply connected to the values and vision of our ancestors. Millions of traditional buildings across the UK and Ireland stand as testament to their resilience and durability. Building Better is not about replacing that legacy. It is about respecting it. We have a responsibility to understand and learn from the past and carefully employ compatible materials available today and carefully utilise them to enhance comfort, wellbeing and energy efficiency of our buildings.
Working together, industry experts, government organisations, training bodies, traditional trades and homeowners, can provide more durable, healthy and appropriate thermal upgrades without compromising character or performance.” To learn more about the principles behind Building Better and the role of traditional buildings in a more sustainable future, visit www.ecologicalbuildingsystems.com